Governor Pritzker announced a new state initiative to help communities and businesses affected by COVID-19 and recent protests. New state budget funds and funds from the CARES Act make up the $900 million grant. Priority will be given to those hit hardest by the events of the last few months. The grant money will be distributed from multiple state programs, including:
- Emergency Rental Assistance
- The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) will provide $150 million in grant money to some tenants who have been unable to pay their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To qualify, an individual must verify they have been unable to pay rent since March 1, 2020 because of COVID-19 related income loss, have an unpaid rent balance from March 2020, their pre-COVID-19 income was below 80 percent of the area median income, they are not receiving any other rental assistance, and they have and will not apply for another COVID-related rental assistance program within Illinois for a certain time period.
- Emergency Mortgage Assistance
- IHDA will be providing $150 million in grant money to assist approximately 10,000 eligible homeowners with grants of up to $15,000.
- To qualify, an individual must verify they were unable to pay their full mortgage because of COVID-19 related income loss, their pre-COVID-19 income did not exceed 120 percent of the area median income, their mortgage was current through February 2020,
- and they have and will not apply for another COVID-related rental assistance program within Illinois for a certain time period.